Lady wants justice from car manufacturer - they damaged her car not once but TWICE!

[webfact]

Picture: Sanook

 

A Thai lady called Phromsiri, 31, went to the Thai media to seek justice after what on the face of it seems some appalling customer service. 

 

Sanook published many pictures of her damaged car but with the make "vaselined" out. Nowhere in a long story was the location or identity of the manufacturer mentioned. 

 

We'll leave that speculation up to posters; here is her story.

 

On June 2nd she put her car into the service center for checks as she was planning an up country trip.

 

She handed over the keys to a staffer who promptly backed it into another vehicle causing some scratches to the paint work. 

 

Picture: Sanook

 

It was agreed that they would repair the scratches with a new paint job but as Phromsiri was going to another province this was deferred for a while.

 

On 29th July she put her car back in for the paint job as agreed and was told she'd be able to pick it up on August 1st.

 

On 30th July she got a call from the company to say that her car had been damaged when it was being taken to another garage. 

 

When she saw it she was shocked to see both the front and the back had been completely smashed in. 

 

A meeting with a senior manager was arranged for August 1st. She said she wanted a new car as the vehicle was relatively new - she'd paid just 16 instalments representing a year and a bit. 

 

She was told no way.

 

She then suggested that the company return her down payment and 16 instalments and she was prepared to buy a new one from them.

 

This was taken to a committee meeting on August 9th but also rejected. 

 

Picture: Sanook

 

The company offered to do a full repair and give her a 30,000 baht extra payment in cash and extend the warranty by two years. 

 

This Phromsiri rejected. Her car had been so badly damaged she didn't fancy this resolution.

 

She suggested a third idea. This was to make the repairs and give her 500,000 baht for time wasted and other considerations.

 

She told Sanook that she didn't expect this to be agreed as it was far too much but she expected the company to come back with a revised offer. 

 

They didn't, they just rejected her plan out of hand at a commitee meeting on 11th August.

 

So she went to the police to file a report, the media to seek justice and adds further that she plans to contact the watchdog group Damrongtham before taking the matter to court. 

 

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[MyFriend You]

Of course no mention of the dealership, or manufacturer, defamation rules  -  looks like a Yaris to me, or whats left of it.  Made with beer cans that one is.     Peace

[Liverpool Lou]

I sympathise with the woman but, talk about wishful thinking!

 

"I want a brand new replacement car for my one and a half-year old damaged Nissan Almera...or if you're going to repair it as new I want my deposit and all the monthly installments refunded"   

 

If only normal insurance policies worked that way!

Edited August 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[muratremix]

This ain't yaris. It probably N***n brand. Model name is probably A*****a

[Liverpool Lou]

11 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Of course no mention of the dealership, or manufacturer, defamation rules  -  looks like a Yaris to me, or whats left of it.  Made with beer cans that one is.     Peace

Nissan Almera.   Along with the Yaris, they're made using no consequentially different steel than any other modern car on the market.

Edited August 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

Unless that heavy front and rear damage was inflicted deliberately, there must have been at least one other vehicle involved.  I wonder what the rest of the story is? 

Edited August 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[Ralf001]

39 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nissan Almera.   Along with the Yaris, they're made using no consequentially different steel than any other modern car on the market.

What steel grades are they using ?

 

[Liverpool Lou]

8 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

47 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nissan Almera.   Along with the Yaris, they're made using no consequentially different steel than any other modern car on the market.

What steel grades are they using ?

Grades that enable their vehicles to be compliant with the same safety regulations that every other manufacturer has to meet.   You're suggesting that some brands, in comparable sectors, are using superior grades of steel?

[worgeordie]

Maybe take it to head office in Japan , I am sure

the won't like the bad publicity , their dealership

are causing, she is not going to get the problem

solved in Thailand ,to her satisfaction.

regards Worgeordie 

[Liverpool Lou]

11 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Maybe take it to head office in Japan , I am sure

the won't like the bad publicity , their dealership

are causing, she is not going to get the problem

solved in Thailand ,to her satisfaction.

regards Worgeordie 

Have you actually read what her daft demands are?   A new car or a repair and the refund of her finance deposit and all her monthly payments to date!   Ridiculous.   Why would Nissan Japan have any interest in collision repair of a nearly two-year old car?

[scorecard]

25 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Maybe take it to head office in Japan , I am sure

the won't like the bad publicity , their dealership

are causing, she is not going to get the problem

solved in Thailand ,to her satisfaction.

regards Worgeordie 

Friend worked in japan a couple of years, job came with a new high end car whilst he was there, high profile car company. Friend was highly impressed with the service provided including a snr., mngr from the HO In Toky calling him after every service to check all was well. (I can agree with that, exact same experience.)

 

Friend returned to LOS and bought a similar model / same brand in Bkk. At second service car was taken out for a road test and involved in a serious crash. Dealer refused to offer any compensation.

 

Friend did some detective work and got the name and address and photo of the Thai dealership owner and estblished that he spoke good English.

 

Friend arrived unannounced, walked into owners room and laid out all the documents he had from when he was in japan, highlighting the name/rank of the Japanese snr who had called him several times in English when he was in Tokyo. Also the e.mail address of same man.

 

Then he opened his notebook and displayaed that he had an e.mail ready to send with numerous photos of the damage. Plus a photo, full name/address of the Bkk dealership owner and photos of the front showroom of the dealership.

 

Thai dealership owner said 'you're too frightened to send that e.mail' and then ignored the farang.

 

Farang immediately sent the e.mail. Within a half hour he got a call from the snr mngr in Tokyo who apologized and send 'where are you now?' 'At the dealership, dealership owner is in the next room'.

 

Ten minutes later dealership owner comes out gives a long apology and many wais and tells the farang he will be getting a new car within a few days and a temporary car until new one is delivered, plus a cheque for just over 200,000Baht plus the dealership will pay the costs (if any) of services for next several years.

 

An hour later the guy from Tokyo calls the farang to check he's satisfied and reveals that the dealership owner had been fined about 1MBaht. 

 

Farang got the new car and every time he took the car for servicing he got the full red carpet trartment. 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by scorecard

[BarraMarra]

The cost to repair this vehicle would be substantial not just severe front damage but rear also looks like an impact head on and someone smashing into the rear. could be bent Chasis. If it was in the UK this would be written off. However, this is Thailand so I expect a bodge job on the repair with little Compo.

[JimmyJ]

The car's resale value just dropped a lot with all the new paint.

[Longwood50]

Normally insurance covers you to be put in the same position you were prior to a loss.  So no enrichment but also no loss. 

It would seem reasonable for her to state that returning a badly damaged car that has been repaired is not the same as one that has never been in an accident.  

A reasonable demand would be for her to request that the dealership give her as close as possible an identical car with the same mileage in the same condition as hers was prior to the accident and for them to provide her with a loaner car and some money to reimburse her for her inconvenience. 
 

The dealership should certainy have not have a great deal of difficulty finding a 18 month old car with similar mileage.  

[JimmyJ]

One thing keeping Thailand a 3rd world country is the oppressive defamation laws.

 

In most countries - at least western countries - the brand of the car and name of the dealership would be all over the articles about this situation.

 

The defamation laws provide protection to incompetent/scamming/corrupt/lawbreaking/dangerous businesses.

 

Instead of sending a thug to silence a justifiably upset consumer, this unjust law is used as a club.

 

How much longer would this dealership be in business if this consumer wasn't silenced by the defamation laws?

Edited August 16, 2022 by JimmyJ

[worgeordie]

44 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Have you actually read what her daft demands are?   A new car or a repair and the refund of her finance deposit and all her monthly payments to date!   Ridiculous.   Why would Nissan Japan have any interest in collision repair of a nearly two-year old car?

So what would you be happy with  ?....  pleased to see you used a HaHa 

emoji , instead of your usual  Sad emoji , or was that a mistake .....

 

regards worgeordie 

[Liverpool Lou]

10 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

58 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Have you actually read what her daft demands are?   A new car or a repair and the refund of her finance deposit and all her monthly payments to date!   Ridiculous.   Why would Nissan Japan have any interest in collision repair of a nearly two-year old car?

Expand  

So what would you be happy with  ?....  pleased to see you used a HaHa 

emoji , instead of your usual  Sad emoji , or was that a mistake .....

Well, one of the risks of using a car on the public roads is that accidents can happen and, if they do, no one can expects a new car to replace an old car as she is demanding (unless a premium had been paid for "new for old" cover).  I would accept a properly repaired car, that's all.

Edited August 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[phetphet]

25 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Normally insurance covers you to be put in the same position you were prior to a loss.  So no enrichment but also no loss. 

It would seem reasonable for her to state that returning a badly damaged car that has been repaired is not the same as one that has never been in an accident.  

A reasonable demand would be for her to request that the dealership give her as close as possible an identical car with the same mileage in the same condition as hers was prior to the accident and for them to provide her with a loaner car and some money to reimburse her for her inconvenience. 
 

The dealership should certainy have not have a great deal of difficulty finding a 18 month old car with similar mileage.  

I agree.

The damage was done while the car was in the dealership's care. It was not her fault.

 

Looks like they are trying to palm her off and not be out of pocket themselves.

[CharlieH]

Replace the vehicle with same model, similar age/mileage (or lower). Compemsation for hassle factor.

 

 

 

[Brick Top]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I sympathise with the woman but, talk about wishful thinking!

 

"I want a brand new replacement car for my one and a half-year old damaged Nissan Almera...or if you're going to repair it as new I want my deposit and all the monthly installments refunded"   

 

If only normal insurance policies worked that way!

Well I have to say I totally agree with her demands , she should without question receive a brand new car. 

Being in the used car business for 50 years and being brought as the son of a large car repair garage , I was involved in repairing damaged cars as young as 9 years old.

That car will never be the same and especially in Thailand its second hand value will plummet about 40% after being involved in an accident.

All that damage will be recorded on the database of the manufacturers computers along with a full list of parts that were used to repair it.

Anyone can check that database by going to the dealership and giving the VIN number.

Its impossible to get the paint back to the original manufacturers standard and here in Thailand there is no doubt that the colour will not match 100%. 

So to a trained eye , it would be obvious it's been in an accident and repaired. No Thai will want to buy that car because that are paranoid about cars that have been involved in any kind of accident.

That poor lady has done absolutely nothing to be put through this ordeal , her car will be off the road for months until this is all sorted out and she will still be having to make payments.

She certainly deserves a brand new car in my opinion.

Edited August 16, 2022 by Brick Top
Spelling mistake

[Liverpool Lou]

4 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I sympathise with the woman but, talk about wishful thinking!

 

"I want a brand new replacement car for my one and a half-year old damaged Nissan Almera...or if you're going to repair it as new I want my deposit and all the monthly installments refunded"   

 

If only normal insurance policies worked that way!

Expand  

Well I have to say I totally agree with her demands , she should without question receive a brand new car. 

Being in the used car business for 50 years

A strangely uninformed response from someone who has been in the business for 50 years.   

 

No insurer, or dealer, would provide a new car to replace a nearly two-year old car unless they had been paying a substantial premium to cover the car on that new-for-old basis (unlikely).  It just does not happen in the real world no matter what sympathies 3rd parties have for her circumstances.   If the car was so badly damaged that economic repair was not feasible, the car would be written-off and the owner would receive the current value of the car before the accident.

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

11 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

She certainly deserves a brand new car in my opinion.

I think it would be fair of the Dealership to offer the lady a replacement car. 

 

If her car is 16 months old, find a same or similar 16 month old car with the same or similar mileage (or better) that has not been in an accident and transfer ownership and payment to that model

Offer a normal amount for her inconvenience because the garage crashed it and not her. 

 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

13 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

Its impossible to get the paint back to the original manufacturers standard and here in Thailand there is no doubt that the colour will not match 100%. 

"...and here in Thailand there is no doubt that the colour will not match 100%".

 Why?  You think that Thai repairers don't have access to exactly the same colour-matching technology that is available to the rest of the world?   Jesus...

[Joseph98765]

Ask for a new car, makes sense for me...I won't drive that car after that. That transmission is totally damage and knowing how they fix things here... that car is a death sentence 

[Liverpool Lou]

18 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

Well I have to say I totally agree with her demands , she should without question receive a brand new car. 

I disagree, a much more sensible solution would be to give her two new cars to replace the used car that was damaged.

[PremiumLane]

Low IQ time again in here - she didn't wreck the car, the dealership did, so she has every right to ask for a new car - they have basically <deleted> it

[Liverpool Lou]

32 minutes ago, Joseph98765 said:

Ask for a new car, makes sense for me...I won't drive that car after that. That transmission is totally damage and knowing how they fix things here... that car is a death sentence 

Clearly, you don't know how professional body shops here can repair damaged vehicles.  A properly repaired car is not "a death sentence".

 

How would you know that the transmission of her car is "totally damage" [sic]?

Edited August 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[worgeordie]

53 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Well, one of the risks of using a car on the public roads is that accidents can happen and, if they do, no one can expects a new car to replace an old car as she is demanding (unless a premium had been paid for "new for old" cover).  I would accept a properly repaired car, that's all.

The damage was done by driver of the car showroom , a car that

has been in serious accident like that is going to lose more value.

it's just not the same as it used to be, and no fault of the owner.

regards worgeordie

[Liverpool Lou]

1 minute ago, PremiumLane said:

Low IQ time again in here - she didn't wreck the car, the dealership did, so she has every right to ask for a new car - they have basically f^cked it

"Low IQ time again in here"

Indeed.   She has every right to have the car professionally repaired and restored to the condition it was before the accident. 

 

If she did have every right to a new car to replace her old car her insurer would be doing that!

[Liverpool Lou]

13 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

The damage was done by driver of the car showroom , a car that

has been in serious accident like that is going to lose more value.

it's just not the same as it used to be, and no fault of the owner.

regards worgeordie

I agree.